Cheesy Baked Tomato Rice

Super yummy, kind of Mexicany flavours. We grilled up some chicken with this and it was shamazing. Just be careful not to burn it like I did!

Serves 6

2 cups rice, cooked

1 capsicum, finely diced

3 small, ripe tomatoes, diced

4 spring onions, green parts only, finely sliced

1-2 smoked sausages or kransky’s, sliced

1 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped

½ cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

1 – 1 ½ cups grated hard cheese*

¼ cup tomato paste

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp cumin

2 anchovies, pasted

1 lime, zested and juiced

Preheat oven to 200C and line a baking dish with greaseproof paper.

Heat a frypan over a medium heat and add capsicum and spring onions. Cook, stirring, until capsicum has softened. Set vegetables aside and cook the sausage until a little golden. Remove from heat.

Combine in a separate bowl the tomato paste, paprika, cumin, anchovies and lime. In a large bowl, then combine the tomato paste mixture, rice, capsicum, tomatoes, spring onions, coriander, basil and half the cheese. Transfer rice mix to the prepared baking dish.

Dot the sausage rounds on top of the rice, then sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is melty and golden. Once cooked, remove from oven and allow it to cool a little. Add extra coriander and onions on top for extra prettiness.

* If you have a strong aversion to cheese, this can definitely be eliminated. I would just make sure there's a good amount of tomato paste mix getting through the rice to ensure it stays nice and moist.

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Thick and rich. There is nothing like a good bowl of pasta to warm the cockles of your heart.

Thanks to my lovely David for this beautiful photo!!

Serves 6

500g gluten free pasta

500g pork mince

500g beef mince

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp white pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup polenta

3 spring onions, green parts only, finely sliced

2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

½ tsp red chilli flakes

2 Tbsp garlic oil

800g tinned diced tomatoes (doesn’t have to be exact)

500ml chicken stock*

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 bay leaves

¼ cup red wine

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ lemon, juiced

Combine pork, beef, tomato paste, thyme, white pepper, egg and polenta in a large bowl. Roll out 2cm balls and place into containers or onto plates and refrigerate, covered, for an hour.

In a large pot, heat garlic oil over a medium heat. Add spring onions, thyme and chilli and fry until the onion soften. Add tomatoes, stock, tomato paste, bay leaves, wine and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, for about an hour or until the sauce has thickened.

Preheat oven to 180C and prepare a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.

Heat a large frypan over medium heat with a little oil. Add meatballs one at a time**, shaking the pan occasionally to turn the meatballs over. Once browned, transfer the meatballs to the baking tray and keep in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until cooked through. Add cooked meatballs to sauce pot and stir through. Keep cooking meatballs in batches until they’re all done.

Boil a large pot of water with big pot and cook pasta. Serve meatballs and sauce with pasta, topped with parmesan.

* I make and store my own onion-free, gluten-free stock for use

** Rerolling the meatballs before putting them in the pan will help prevent them from getting a flat side

Pork Meatballs with Spinach and Fennel

If you make the meatballs the day before, they're even better!

Serves 4

Meatballs

500g pork mince

2 Tbsp polenta

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp ground coriander

1 lemon, zested

2 Tbsp garlic oil

1 tsp red chilli flakes

¼ cup white wine

Spinach and Fennel

1 fennel bulb

4 spring onions, green parts only, sliced

8 slices bacon

200g baby spinach

1 lemon, juiced

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp ground cumin

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and season well. Using your hands, roll small meatballs (approx. 2cm diameter) and place in container lined with baking paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat a little garlic oil in a non-stick frypan over medium heat. Place meatballs in carefully and cook, tossing occasionally, until brown all over. Add chilli flakes and white wine and cook until meatballs are done.

For the vegetables, cut the fennel into quarters and remove the hard base. Slice very finely, ideally using a mandolin. In a separate bowl, combine lemon, oil, Dijon, cumin, salt and pepper. Heat a large frypan over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until soft. Add fennel and spring onions, cooking until soft. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted. Drain excess liquid from vegetables and stir through dressing.